San Diego County District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis and FBI Special Agent in Charge Daphne Hearn announced today that Timothy Mark Brachmanis was sentenced to nine years and eight months in state prison and was ordered to pay more than $3.7 million in restitution and fines for stealing millions of dollars in real estate investment scheme.

Brachmanis, 44, pleaded guilty in August to three counts of grand theft, a violation of the tax code, and he admitted the aggravated white-collar crime enhancements. He was sentenced by Superior Court Judge Frederic L. Link. Brachmanis was originally charged with 46 counts including grand theft, diversion of construction funds, sale of an unqualified security, using false statements in the sale of a security, filing a fraudulent income tax return, and allegations of aggravated white-collar crime enhancements.

“This defendant preyed on victim after victim eventually bilking them out of more that $3 million,” DA Dumanis said. “Deputy District Attorney Hector Jimenez of our Economic Crimes Division and the prosecution team did an outstanding job prosecuting this case and working with our law enforcement partners to help obtain a measure of justice for the victims.”

“Today’s sentencing sends a clear message to those who would defraud the public through deceit and false claims,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Daphne Hearn. “The FBI and our law enforcement partners will aggressively pursue you and stop you from lining your pockets at the expense of others.”

Brachmanis claimed to be a real estate investment attorney who solicited unsuspecting victims to invest in a variety of properties which he said would be developed and later sold at a profit. Brachmanis convinced the victims that he would be an equal partner in some of the investments, but he instead used the victims’ money only as a down payment. Brachmanis diverted investors’ money to other projects and in some cases took the money for himself.

This case was the result of a joint investigation with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), San Diego County District Attorney’s Office, and the California Franchise Tax Board.